Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Presented by Anna Sekunova, Clark Wilson LLP

Builders liens can be a very effective tool for securing unpaid amounts by various participants in the construction industry. Despite their effectiveness, builders liens are very technical and require meticulous compliance with the applicable legislation - the Builders Lien Act. In this session, Anna Sekunova will discuss how to properly deal with builders lien issues, including:

whether consultants have lien rights;

how to properly file a lien;

how to advance or defend a lien claim;

how liens can be removed; and

how to deal with claims against holdback funds.

This is your chance for "free" legal advice!

Anna Sekunova is an associate with the firm of Clark Wilson LLP and a member of the firm’s Business Litigation and Infrastructure, Construction & Procurement Groups.

Anna represents individual and corporate parties in various litigation matters. Her experience includes resolving director and shareholder disputes, real estate issues, commercial lease disputes and all types of contract disputes.

On the construction side, Anna represents clients in all phases of projects, from preparation of construction contracts to the handling and resolution of claims. Anna regularly deals with builders lien issues, delay and deficiency claims, bond claims and other construction-related issues. Anna is committed to using the alternative dispute resolution and cost-effective approaches to resolve the disputes.

LOCATIONSandman Hotel, 180 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Enter Moxie’s Classic Grill escalator entrance. The ballroom is located straight through the restaurant at the back of Moxie’s.

PARKING
Sandman Hotel Parking: Enter off Cambie Street, pass the Sandman Hotel Breezeway, underground parking to the left, press buzzer to access parkade and take elevator to restaurant level. Cost is $1.25 per 15 minutes.
Easy Park: Across the street on the corner of Georgia and Cambie Streets. Cost is $1.50 per 30 minutes.

REGISTER BY FAX
The registration form available at vancouver.csc-dcc.ca. Payment can be made at the door by cash, cheque, or VISA only.

PRE-REGISTRATION
Pre-registration ends at 2:00 pm on the Wednesday before the meeting.

WALK-INS WELCOME
Missed the deadline? Did not pre-register? You may still attend at $50.40 per person, space permitting, BUT please call 604-868-8406 beforehand. If you pre-register and do not attend, we may invoice you for the cost of the meeting. If you have special dietary (meal) requirements, please notify us at least 24 hours before the event.

Thursday, 13 March 2014

RFP or Invitation to Compete, What's the Difference?

By Bill Preston

Lawyers will answer that an Invitation to Bid is the Judges’ disciplined, fair and equal competitive procurement process, while a Request for Proposals (RFP) is a self-interested negotiation process where both the procurer and the provider can, short of deceit, do and say as they please. So, for authors of procurement documents the choice becomes, what’s your poison? Choose an Invitation to Bid by preparing a prescriptive design spec in the absence of the wisdoms of a quality constructor and hope that the owner can force the low priced bidder to complete quality on time, or choose an RFP and negotiate both a 3P design for the owner’s requirements while hoping that the price is near market values. Obviously, all procurers would prefer the best of each without the risks – a 3P design constructed as quick and inexpensive as a constructor will low ball. To achieve this ideal, for the past 15 years or so spec writers have tried to write hybrid procurement terms which seek to minimize the Courts’ opportunity to intervene, but yet compel the provider of construction services to price compete toward the lowest possible to get the award. And, as you might expect, the parties frequently end up spending time, money and reputation before a Judge fighting the issue: Are their hybrid terms an RFP and thus the Court cannot second guess decisions, or are they a competitive bid where the Court will impose its rules? To give you a feel of when the Judges will jump in, I’ll review two cases, one from Nova Scotia and the other from BC.

Tuesday, 11 March 2014

Thursday, March 13th, 2014

Presented by David Sherley, TTMAC and Custom Building Products

How are your specifications perceived by the trades? Dave Sherley will review examples of typical tile specifications, relay how they’re perceived by the trades, and present an approach that clearly communicates consultants’ intentions for preparation products, setting systems, grouts, sealers and other areas of tile specification.

This approach is founded on the 2012/2014 Specification Guide 09 30 00 Tile Installation Manual, a practical, customizable master specification guide published by the Terrazzo, Tile & Marble Association of Canada (TTMAC). The Specification Guide streamlines the preparation of specifications to describe the installation and performance requirements for ceramic and stone tile installations. It is the most comprehensive up-to-date tile installation standard available in Canada.

The TTMAC was founded in 1944. Its mandate is to develop methods of standardizing terrazzo, tile and marble installation techniques, as well as being a technical resource and liaison for architects, specifiers, designers and engineers.

With 25 years of manufacturing building products experience, David Sherley is recognized as key resource for the trade and builders across Western Canada. David has been a TTMAC member for 16 years, been a committee board member and been responsible for TTMAC training for 16 years.

LOCATIONSandman Hotel, 180 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Enter Moxie’s Classic Grill escalator entrance. The ballroom is located straight through the restaurant at the back of Moxie’s.

PARKING
Sandman Hotel Parking: Enter off Cambie Street, pass the Sandman Hotel Breezeway, underground parking to the left, press buzzer to access parkade and take elevator to restaurant level. Cost is $1.25 per 15 minutes.
Easy Park: Across the street on the corner of Georgia and Cambie Streets. Cost is $1.50 per 30 minutes.

REGISTER BY FAX
The registration form available at vancouver.csc-dcc.ca. Payment can be made at the door by cash, cheque, or VISA only.

PRE-REGISTRATION
Pre-registration ends at 2:00 pm on the Wednesday before the meeting.

WALK-INS WELCOME
Missed the deadline? Did not pre-register? You may still attend at $50.40 per person, space permitting, BUT please call 604-868-8406 beforehand. If you pre-register and do not attend, we may invoice you for the cost of the meeting. If you have special dietary (meal) requirements, please notify us at least 24 hours before the event.